Steven Tyler – best known as lead singer of legendary American rock band Aerosmith – played a concert in the David Geffen Hall, New York City called Out On a Limb, in support of Janie’s Fund. Lighting the show was LD Nathan Alves, who used 12 Robe BMFL Spots to produce most of the major signature looks.
It was Alves’ first work with Tyler and the focus was on emphasising the intimate environment and the delicate subject matter inspiring Janie’s Fund which is Tyler’s new philanthropic initiative to serve abused and neglected girls. All the production was centred around the star as he related the narrative of who he is and his personal journey to where he is now. It was completely different from a standard rock show.
“Everything I did lighting-wise was designed to be unobtrusive – hiding the technology and highlighting Steven,” explained Alves. He worked with Creative Director Jeri Slaughter and Art Director / Set Designer Zeya Maurer and was involved in most of the show’s video elements in addition to lighting. He’s always believed that lighting and video should, “play in the same sandbox” and be complimentary to the overall visuality of a performance.
The BMFL Spots – supplied by VER – were positioned on the house fly bars and used as down and backlights on the set structure. Alves first used BMFLs on a leg of the Barry Manilow’s One Last Time tour in 2015, when he was working as Lighting Director / Operator for LD Seth Jackson. “BMFLs really proved themselves to me on that tour and I have been using them on designs ever since,” he explained.
Alves also explained how he liked the crisp, clean well-defined beam of the BMFL and the quality of the light. “It was a perfect back-light fixture for this show and I also used them as band specials,” he commented, observing that the BMFLs also looked great without any haze, which is one of the challenges of working in this venue.
The LD also expressed his belief that Robe is currently making big strides in the US touring market. He’s seen the products in action for several years on overseas shows and said it’s nice to see them taking off in his home country. He stated: “As a company Robe seems to be really interested in listening and perfecting their product line – you can’t ask for more than that from a manufacturer!”
